One Pacific, One Chance, One Point Five

4 December 2018, Katowice, Poland - Pacific regional organisations stand united, forming strong support to the Pacific island delegations at the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

On the frontlines of the impacts of climate change, the Pacific islands are amongst the most vulnerable to its effects. The full realisation of these effects has been made clear in the Special Report on 1.5 Degrees Celsius by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Released in October this year, the IPCC Special Report outlines the impacts of a world limited at 1.5 Degrees Celsius warming in comparison to that of a 2 Degree world. The 1.5 Degrees report validates that the position advocated by Pacific Island Leaders during the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and reflected in the Paris Agreement itself.

Party delegates from 12 Pacific island countries help make up approximately 22,000 delegates attending the UN Climate Conference in Katowice, Poland this year. The Pacific Community, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Pacific Islands Development Forum, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the University of the South Pacific are working together to provide coordinated support through the CROP-Plus (Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific plus others), led by SPREP,.

“We have answered the call from our Pacific island Members for support with this process. Science has shown us the risk we face if our global community doesn’t work collectively together to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ms Tagaloa Cooper, Director of Climate Change Resilience of SPREP which is leading the CROP-Plus coordination support.

“Our Pacific islands are also striving for island resilience through climate change adaptation. Working collectively with our regional organisations and partners for our Pacific islands can result in wins, for both our region and our planet.”

Assisting with preparations for the UNFCCC COP24, help was provided from CROP-Plus through the development of briefs for the UN General Assembly as well as for COP24 and a range of resources were developed to enhance and empower cohesive messaging from the Pacific. A preparatory meeting for the Pacific islands was held in November with support from the IMPACT Project and Climate Analytics, to develop a strategy for effective engagement at COP24.

Funding support from the Governments of Ireland and New Zealand was made available to Pacific island delegates enabling them to nominate extra members of their delegation at COP24. A strong CROP-Plus team is also present at the UNFCCC COP24 to support the Pacific island delegations on the ground in Katowice, Poland working closely with the Pacific Small Islands Developing States group chaired by Fiji.

Ms Tagaloa Cooper, SPREP

“We look forward to strengthened partnerships and continued support for our Pacific island Members at the UN Climate Change Conferences and other multi-lateral environment agreements which our Members are Parties to,” said Ms Cooper.

“We are here to serve, working together with our regional partners helps ensure our support is well coordinated and mobilised.”

Financial support to enhance the support from CROP-Plus has been provided by the Governments of Ireland and New Zealand as well as the United Nations Development Programme.

The 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is hosted by Katowice, Poland from 2 – 14 December, 2019. The Government of Fiji was the former president of the UNFCCC COP23. - #ResilientPacific